4089: Distribution of the estate of
the father and his wife who was his business partner

I would like to ask a question on
inheritance.If my father passed away does my mother need to distribute the wealth
immediately even if all the children are Ok about her having possession on the wealth
until the end of her life. Also if my mother takes her share which is half (since she was an active
partner in my fathers business) and distributes the rest of my fathers wealth according to
shareeah, can she gift a part of her share to any of her children. To be more specific, if
she favours one child by buying him a house with her share, will that house be distributed
amongst all the children after her death. How can one prove that the mother gave the house
as a gift and did not leave it behing to be distributed amongst the other children. Can
she add this in her will. Must all the other children agree to this agreement and sign it
etc...Please let me know soon.

Praise be to Allaah.

The basic principle concerning the estate of
the deceased is that it should be shared out among the heirs after the person
has died, and after the funeral expenses and any outstanding debts to Allaah
(e.g., zakaah) and other people have been paid, and any specific bequests that
may have been made have been dealt with. It is disliked (makrooh) to delay sharing
out the estate, because of the harm that this may cause to the heirs, but if
all the heirs agree to delay it, there is nothing wrong with this. If your mother
was a partner in your father’s business, then she should take her share
of the company, then she is entitled to one-eighth of your father’s estate,
then with regard to you and your siblings, the males are entitled to the share
of two females, if the deceased’s parents are no longer alive. If you and
your mother want to leave everything as it is, and let the business continue
operating, there is nothing wrong with this; it is clear what each person’s
share is, and whenever one of you wants to ask for it, he may take it.

It is not permissible for the mother to give
something to one of her children and not the others, because of the hadeeth
narrated by al-Nu’maan ibn Basheer (may Allaah be pleased with him), who
said: “My father gave me some of his wealth as a gift, and my mother said,
‘I will not accept this until you ask the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to be a witness to this.’ So
my father went to the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) to ask him to be a witness to the gift, and the Messenger
of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said, ‘Have you done this for all your children?’ He said, ‘No.’
He said, ‘Fear Allaah and treat all your children fairly.’ So my father
came back and took back the gift.” (Agreed upon).

For more detail on this topic and answers to
the rest of your question, please see Question #1151.
It is not permissible for a mother to bequeath anything to one of her heirs,
because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said: “There is no bequest to the heir.” (Kashf
al-Qinaa’, 4/342; Ghaayat al-Muntahaa, 2/335; al-Mughni,
5/604). If she does, her bequest should not be carried out.